A/N: Thank you everyone! :) I'm so glad you're all enjoying this story of mine. Part 2 is almost at an end, so I hope the ramp-up of the action continues to meet with your approval. This part is finished, and I'm in the process of outlining Part 3: The Hero's Way Home.
Laurathechef worked magic on my chapter, as always. I claim no ownership of the show, characters, settings, or plot. any resemblance to any real people, places, or events is entirely coincidental.
Enjoy!
Regina knew exactly when the barrier spell shattered into nothingness. It was impossible not to, as so much of her magic went into creating the protection; that when it was broken it felt like she'd had the wind knocked out of her.
The Dark One was coming.
She'd been putting up protections around the room designed to keep dark magic users at bay, but she had a sinking feeling that it was all a waste. Her last effort, the one she expended most of her energy setting up, was a barrier spell around Emma.
Regina snorted at the irony. They'd spent so long trying to get Emma out of her own barrier spell and now she was putting a new one right back up around the other woman, even though it wasn't likely to do much good. A relatively new light magic user had almost no chance at casting any spell that could slow him down, much less stop him, but she had to try everything possible. Emma deserved that much.
Emma.
Regina paused in her efforts, looking down at the slumbering Savior. The idea that Emma considered her important enough to her that Regina might be able to wake her from a sleeping curse – Regina still had trouble putting the words 'True Love' together when it came to her situation with Emma – was earth-shaking.
She having feelings for Emma wasn't crazy. The blonde was a remarkable woman. No one else stood up to her and defended her with such vehemence. She had phenomenal reserves of inner strength, having grown up too fast, becoming an adult in an unforgiving world when most children enjoyed the love and support of stable homes. Flinging herself into any challenge, whether it was becoming a true mother to Henry or taking on the mantle of her fated title in the eyes of the townspeople, Emma never backed down from anything or anyone.
Physically…Regina's gaze traced up and down Emma's body, feeling a stab of guilt at her shameless ogling. The woman was a remarkable physical specimen. Athletic and toned – except for the weight loss from the past few months where she must have been nearly starving herself or running herself into the ground – she was magnificent. It was clichéd, but her hair was like some of Rumpelstiltskin spun gold. Green eyes that could be as stormy as Zelena's pendant or as tranquil as Storybrooke's harbor on a clear day, Emma's eyes were a study in and of themselves.
There was no reason Regina could find to not be drawn to the blonde, but imagining that Emma could love her in return? That was laughable.
She was a monster.
The number of corpses, burned villages, ruined lives, and broken dreams that lay shattered in her wake gave lie to any sense of self other than that. There was no earthly reason for Emma to have those kinds of feelings for her.
And yet…
No one had ever stepped up and defended her more than the blonde. Even when there was no reason to, when everyone got their memories back after the first curse broke and the town marched for the blood of the woman who kept Emma from her parents, tried to kill them all, and cursed them to another realm, Emma still stood up for her. She told off the mob, got them to back down, and stood up in front of her like the white knight she should have been, would have been in the Enchanted Forest.
At first she was sure Emma's ferocity had been because she was Henry's adoptive mother, but the amount of times that the younger woman had forced her way into Regina's carefully ordered existence, maintaining a presence that was at first annoying, at times miraculous, and always unpredictable. Almost five years in, few people still ran toward Regina when the proverbial shit hit the fan – she cursed the blonde for her momentary lapse in her usual poise at the use of the vulgarity – but Emma always did.
Maybe…
Maybe those looks, that effort and time, maybe it all meant something.
Maybe…
She sat down in the chair across from Emma's bed and regarded the blonde. "You might think you're in love with me, and I just realized how strongly I feel about you, but what if it doesn't mean anything? What if you just think you feel that way? What am I supposed to do with these feelings? You're going to realize how you deserve better and where will that leave me? What am I going to do with you, Emma Swan?" she murmured.
Even if Emma had been able to answer, the door bursting open would have interrupted her. Regina felt the darkness as the energy in the room shifted. Knowing it wasn't Snow or Charming, she sent a blast of light magic energy intended to stun and incapacitate a dark magic user, but Rumpelstiltskin merely waved it off like brushing away a fly.
"Oh no, dearie, don't get up on my account," he hissed, casting a spell that caused vines to emerge from the wall.
Taken by surprise at his entrance, Regina felt their cold strength slithering around her arms and legs before her own magic, drained as it was, could rise to her defense. Restrained to the chair, she snarled at the imp. "What the hell are you doing here, Rumple?"
"I would have thought that would have been obvious, Regina," he growled, "I'm here for the Savior's blood. Tainted Savior blood will provide the last ingredient I need for the Author's enchanted ink. Once I have that, he will have his ability to write again, and I will have a whole slew of happy endings."
Regina fought against her bonds, but having expended as much magical energy as she had over the last several hours, she was nearly powerless. "You won't get the Savior," she snarled.
"See that's where you're mistaken," smirked the Dark One, "I don't need to get her. I just need some of her blood. Then I'll have everything I've ever wanted."
Noticing Regina's struggles, his mocking laughter intensified, pacing in front of her like a James Bond villain. "You're weak, Regina. Spending far too much time around the heroes these days. They've been filling your head with all their nonsense about love conquering all, and where has it gotten you?" His voice turned to a hiss as he stopped pacing and moved directly in front of her, leaning forward and getting right in her face. "Nowhere, that's where. Love. Is. Weakness. Your mother learned that lesson early on, but it seems the…apple, if you will…fell too far from that particular tree."
Feeling her magic trying to come back, Regina gave up trying to find a magical way out of her bonds. "We will find a way to stop you!"
That brought out the high-pitched Rumpelstiltskin giggle she knew and hated. "Who? You and the wonderful Charming's? You and I both know they couldn't stand up to either of us."
Just as Regina opened her mouth to reply, the door burst open and said Charming's followed. In the midst of trying to free herself from bonds both magical and physical, she couldn't stop the snort at the sight of David brandishing his pistol and Snow her crossbow, as if projectile weapons would do any damage to a magical being as powerful as the Dark One.
Without missing a beat, Rumpelstiltskin blasted them with a wave of magic, freezing them in mid-stride. "See? They can't do anything to help you. They can't even help their own daughter who they love so dearly. You have all failed. Love is weakness. Learn that lesson."
"You won't win. Villains don't get happy endings, remember?" Regina took perverse delight n how fast the smirk wiped off his face at her reminder of his famous saying.
"Look at them over there, your majesty," he added, needling her with the reminder of her former life, "Frozen. Unable to do anything. Their daughter will be the means through which I finally do get my happy ending. All the villains will, except those backstabbing Ladies of Darkness. I'll take care of them once and for all. And who knows? I might even have the Author write Emma back into existence. She's my son's love and my grandson's birth mother, after all."
Regina had a flashback to the moment she stood outside the stables, watching her mother crush Daniel's heart into dust while she stood by, powerless to stop the murder. She couldn't fight for her first love, but damned if she wasn't going to fight for her Tru…for Emma, she corrected in her mind. Not this time. She heard Daniel's voice in her mind from their last moments together at the stables. Then love again.
As Regina fumed, she felt her magic beginning to tingle through her hands and fingers, fighting to explode out of her and shatter her bonds. Rumple's spell was strong but all magic had its limits. There was a strong pulse as he leaned in to her once more. "Love. Is. Weakness."
"No. It's strength," Regina shot back, leaning as far back as she could in the chair before lunging her upper body forward with all her might just as her magic surged out from her hands.
It was a move she'd seen in any number of bad action movies that Henry had begged her to watch as a child, but its effectiveness was none less for its clichéd nature.
The crown of her forehead collided at precisely the right angle on Rumpelstiltskin nose, shattering it in a spray of blood that fortunately missed her, even though it landed on her carpet. Her magic finally broke the restraints, aided by his surprise at her physical attack. In all their time together, even when he riled her up enough to turn on him, she'd never struck him physically. A smaller woman, without magic she was nearly defenseless, so she'd concentrated her power into her magic, which he counted on, being infinitely more powerful.
The surprise of the move worked in her favor. His magic receded enough to allow her to break free. Betrayal flashed through his eyes as he healed the injury. "You'll pay for that," he growled.
"I've been waiting for you, Dark One," she snarled back, "The circle is now complete. When I left you in the Enchanted Forest, I was but the learner. Now I am the master." Snow and Charming were still frozen but Regina would have sworn she saw their eyebrows rise up at her quote. Darth Vader was always her favorite Star Wars character. For some reason his story of descent and redemption spoke to her, but Henry would forever rue missing her use one of his most famous lines.
Rumpelstiltskin quirked his head at the remark, but shook it off with a blast of magic. She recognized the spell in time – it was one he'd taught her long ago designed to sap the magical energy of an opponent. A simple counter spell deflected the wave and she was safe.
Thus began a magical confrontation that would forever be recounted as the Battle of Storybrooke. More than Zelena, more than Ingrid, more than Pan's botched curse attempt, the fight between former pupil and master, former Queen and current Dark One, in her mansion, under the frozen gaze of Snow White and Prince Charming, with the Savior still under her cursed sleep as the prize, had it all.
Spell and counter spell, attack and defense, they went back and forth. At one point Rumple tried summoning the entire contents of her cutlery drawer, cleaver included, into a flying cloud of death, but her magic ripped the door off the armoire in the room to block the attack. It was her first fight of its kind, more focused on defense and wearing down the enemy than offensive attacks. Protecting Emma was her only thought
What she hadn't counted on was how fast she was wearing down. The Dark One's strength was still far greater than her own, and Regina felt her energies – already depleted from the useless barriers she'd erected before the attack – were rapidly waning. Every time Rumple blasted her with more magic, she grew more fatigued. Each blow took more to recover from, and he moved closer and closer to Emma's bed.
With a shout of rage, she slapped her hands together, summoning what little strength she had left into a blast of pure magic intended to send Rumple flying through the wall behind him, but he merely twitched his hands and his counter spell sent her attack flowing around him like water around a rock.
"Enough of this nonsense," he sneered as he withdrew a knife with a wicked curved blade from its sheathe, "Time to get my happy ending. I've changed my mind about the Savior, too. My grandson will just have to remember her as a fallen hero."
Regina, doubled over and gasping for breath as her latest spell failed, could only watch with growing despair as he approached. When the Dark One stood by Emma's bed, she abandoned all pretense of using magic to defeat him, and lunged for his torso, trying to injure him physically. He cackled, sending her across the room and pinning her to the wall. Once more the evil restraints slithered out to hold her in place.
"You're going to want to watch this, dearie," he hissed as he turned to Emma, "I'm going to do what you once promised and end Miss Swan." Turning fully, the Dark One raised his hands and shot out a stream of magic. He grunted with the effort, finding the spell stronger than expected, but far too quickly the final defense around Emma was gone.
As he advanced, blade out, Regina watched her own happy ending about to be destroyed. It was an especially cruel irony that when she had finally accepted her own feelings about Emma, the blonde was about to be killed like a ritual sacrifice. Willing to sacrifice herself to save another person, she forced her body to summon every last ounce of magic it still held. Her vision became tinged with white as her entire being tingled in the same way as a limb that had fallen asleep. Closing her eyes, Regina felt that energy seeping out of her limbs and into the wall, forcing the tentacles back. With a primal roar, she made one last, desperate charge.
As twin fireballs shot across the room at him, Rumpelstiltskin turned back to her. For one brief moment she thought she saw pure fear in his eyes. With no time left, he turned and stabbed the dagger deep into Emma's side.
Time stood still.
Three people, two frozen by magic and one drained by expending all of her own, watched in horror as Emma's lifeblood flowed out of the wound. The cursed sleep prevented her from reacting physically, but she was losing what little color her skin once held.
Failed, Regina fell to the floor as the Dark One wrenched the blade free of its victim and disappeared in a cloud of scarlet smoke a fraction of a second before he would have been incinerated. His retreat ended all the magic he'd used in the area, freeing Snow and Charming from the freezing spell.
Three voices cried out as one, howling in despair.
A/N: Thoughts? Reviews and constructive criticism make writers happy.
